What Does Feminism Stand For? Who are These Creatures who call themselves Feminists? Expository Essay

A layman views feminism as being focused on women gaining equal rights to men. However, this is a very simplistic way of addressing feminism. In reality, feminism is much more complex and larger than merely describing equality for women (Weisberg 234).

Feminist philosophy espouses various hidden as well as non-expressed desires of all the people with regard to human equality. It is both an intellectual commitment and a political movement that seeks for women’s justice as well as an end of all kinds of sexism (Dutt 238).

Generally, people disagree on a number of issues. For instance, they are against of the common definition of sexism. This question should reflect their craving for equality and measures which are to be done to achieve it. Whilst many people can easily define feminism, there is a need for deeper understanding of what feminism is and who qualifies to be termed a feminist.

Feminist concept varies in two ways in majority sociological hypotheses (Walker 89). Firstly, it is the function of a multidisciplinary, multicultural as well as worldwide community, which consists of not only sociologists, but also professionals from several other professions, artistic authors as well as political activists.

Subsequently, feminist sociologists operate with a dual goal to expand a deepen sociology by reviewing professional understanding. It is also necessary to take into account breakthroughs being attained by feminist scholars and to grow a crucial comprehension for a culture in order to alter the globe in guidelines considered much more humane.

Various feminists want the society to accept that there is no strategic means of unifying different sexism instances and correspondingly, the lacks of a strategic unity in what constitutes feminism. Rather feminism should be viewed as an avenue for coalition building (Dutt 236).

Different entities operate to deal with various forms of oppressive actions; some entities handle oppression against females as of fundamental concern.

However, feminists are motivated by the pursuit for social justice. The feminist inquiry offers a wide range of standpoints with regard to social, cultural, economic, as well as political aspects (Duplessis and Ann 34).

Understanding feminism begins with developing an undertaking of the theory itself, as well as the politics surrounding it. Further, the sub-entries of feminism include aspects like disability, globalization, sex work, human trafficking, as well as sexuality, among others (Walker 99). These aspects extend the understanding as well as the scope of feminism.

Different cultures, even without their own comprehension describe various aspects of feminism uniquely. For instance, within the African culture, feminism will show much focus on fighting the tradition that deters progress of women.

In such societies, women have for long been sidelined in decision making and generally treated as the weaker sex (Kiss 343). The society has shaped women to be ‘submissive’ to men regardless of whether they are being oppressed or not.

This is very much unlike the western civilization where women have long been accepted as participants within every process in the society. However, within such a society, another aspect of feminism emerging is the role of sexuality (Walker 102). As one would ask, is the western culture treating women as sexual objects?

Broadly speaking, most societies describe feminism goal as being to end oppression and hence stresses that women oppression is not only unjust but an unethical practice.

The perspective is likely to differ within diverse cultures and it must be acknowledged that women oppression goes beyond the rhetorical sexism. Emerging issues from diverse cultures include: classism, homophobia, racial feminism, ageism, as well as ableism, among other areas (Jaggar 98).

What is sure, is that all societies agree that unequally is unjust, that’s why feminists should fight for their rights to restore the justice. However, a closer look emphasizes that accomplishing feminism goals necessitates dealing with racism, as well as economic exploitation suffered by women (Jaggar 67).

Information from different cultures reveal that women from different racial backgrounds suffer from different forms of exploitation. The plight of women in African societies definitely differs from that of white women, or Indian women. This implies that feminists must address the issue of race.

A fundamental question to query the racial perspective is how often a white woman will get similar treatment as the one accorded to a black woman (Delphy 87). Moreover, one can watch the media display pictures of women from different backgrounds and the plight they suffer.

Feminism is a fight for liberty that is one of the larger battles to eliminate all forms of superiority. It is important to understand how patriarchal domination shares ideologies with racial foundations as well as other forms of oppression (Herrman and Abigail 131).

The feminism aspect cannot be eradicated while leaving intact the other aspects. Such knowledge plays an important role in both feministic theory and practice.

Feministic theory is a generalized from this point. It is meant to be wide ranging system constituted of ideas about social life as well as human experience based on a woman-focused viewpoint. There are three ways by which feminism is woman centered.

Firstly, it begins with investigation, which seeks to establish the situations and experiences encountered by women in the society (Herrman and Abigail 132). Secondly, feminism puts women at its centre by seeking to view the world from an exclusive vantage point for women within the social sphere.

Thirdly, feminist theory acts as a critical basis for activitism on behalf of the female-kind. It attempts to create a world where all humankind can live as equals.

More answers are still general after decades of posing the question to the women’s plight in the society. Women are found within all social scenarios. Where they are absent, it is due to the fact that they don’t have the ability or desire, but due to the fact that there has been a purposive endeavor to leave them out.

Where there are women, they have exercised roles extremely diverse from the well-known conception of them (with regard to roles of being passive wives or girlfriends as well as mothers).

In fact, as wives and mothers as well as in a sequence of various other tasks, females have, alongside men, actively produced the ideals of being desired (Kiss 345). Females are actively present in the majority of social circumstances, professions, publics as well as community roles where a blind eye has been turned to the women’s contribution.

Furthermore, female roles in a lot of social circumstances, whilst crucial, are diverse ranging from, much less fortunate compared to, to beings subordinate to men.

Paying no attention to the role of women in society is a key to notice inequality. Feminism’s second fundamental query, then, is: “Why are things the way they are?”

The initial query demands for an explanation of the social community, the second query requires an explanation of the community. Feminism’s responses to these types of queries provide people with a common social concept.

Works Cited

Delphy, Christine. Close to Home: A Materialist Analysis of Women’s Oppression, Trans. Diane Leonard. Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press, 1984.

Duplessis, Rachel and Ann, Snitow. The Feminist Memoir Project: Voices from Women’s Liberation, New York: Random House, 2008.

Dutt, Martin. “Reclaiming a Human Rights Culture: Feminism of Difference and Alliance.” In Talking Visions: Multicultural Feminism in a Transnational Age, ed., Ella Shohat. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1998, 225-246

Herrman, Anne and Abigail, Stewart. Theorizing Feminism: Parallel Trends in the Humanities and Social Sciences, Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 2007.

Jaggar, Alison. Feminist Politics and Human Nature, Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield, 1983.

Kiss, Elizabeth. “Feminism and Rights.” Dissent, 42.3 (2002): 342-347.

Walker, Margaret. Moral Understandings: A Feminist Study in Ethics, New York: Routledge, 2005.

Weisberg, Kelly. Feminist Legal Theory: Foundations, Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1993.